200-Year-Old Tree Felled for Art

– Courtesy photo

The Wooden Palate, a LA artisanal wood – crafting shop, brought down an over 40 ft. tall, 200-year-old tree in on Highland Oaks Drive in Arcadia last week. They brought a similar tree down in Torrance last year, and it was quite a spectacular sight, which actually garnered coverage in a video piece from LA Weekly.

Ryan Silverman, a longtime master craftsman, over saw the tree’s removal, and they sawed it on the west coast’s only saw capable of cutting 14 ft. tree slabs from the trunk, right there in the street.

Tree was owned by Raquel and Paul Elmore, and took two days to bring down in full and slice.

An arborist declared the tree diseased and a potential risk to the home. A permit for removal was issued. The inspector stopped by and commented how lucky the owners were it was brought down.

Ryan and Eileen will be working on it at their shop in Gardena, prepping it for drying. The trunk was hollow unfortunately; however they can still utilize some of the large slices for tables or benches and can transform other cuts into handmade bowls and chop blocks, serving boards and smaller pieces of furniture.

The wood will be used to create beautiful furniture and smaller décor items after it dries. The company is looking to do a lot more of this “urban logging,” using local trees that need to be taken down from age or weather and then giving them a second life.
Examples of their work: http://www.thewoodenpalate.com